Laetitia Pilkington

Poet, Author

1712 – 1750

 Credit »
47

Who was Laetitia Pilkington?

Laetitia Pilkington was a celebrated Anglo-Irish poet and important source of information on the early 18th century. Her Memoirs are the source of much of what is known of the personalities and habits of Jonathan Swift and others.

Laetitia was born of two distinguished families. Her father was a physician and obstetrician, eventually the president of the College of Physicians for Ireland, and her mother was the niece of Sir John Meade. She was born either in Cork, where her parents lived at their marriage, or Dublin, where they moved by 1711. She married Matthew Pilkington in 1725, a rising priest in the Church of Ireland, and the couple were introduced to Jonathan Swift at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin in 1725. Swift enjoyed their company immensely, and he sought to benefit them in 1730 with the monies from a Miscellany of Irish wit that was never published. At that point, Swift already noted the literary skill of both Pilkingtons, calling them "a little young poetical parson, who has a littler young poetical wife". Swift continued to try to help the Pilkingtons, and he got Matthew a position as chaplain to the Lord Mayor of London for 1732–1733.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
1712
Dublin
Also known as
  • Laetitia van Lewen
Children
Nationality
  • United Kingdom
Profession
Died
Jul 29, 1750

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Laetitia Pilkington." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/laetitia_pilkington>.

Discuss this Laetitia Pilkington biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net